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You're completely lost in your Silicon Valley mindset. Most of the western world still shows up to work and uses Office on Windows. Even in tech, I've seen non-

by dsg42 11y ago

You're completely lost in your Silicon Valley mindset. Most of the western world still shows up to work and uses Office on Windows. Even in tech, I've seen non-technical workers request PC's just so they can use "real" Office. Office for Mac doesn't cut it. And while it might be good enough for you, it's not for many people who rely on Word, Office, and PowerPoint for work. Oh, and Google Docs is hardly free in the office.

fragmede 11y ago
I'm not saying this would happen tomorrow. Microsoft has enough inertia to fire all their developers and just sell the current version of Windows and Office for a long time. Hell, some 30% of computer users in China still use Windows XP. After a few generations raised on smartphones and tablets without any Microsoft apps, Microsoft Office would just be a curiosity their parents used, like Corel Draw or dBase. Fortunately Microsoft has taken note; there's rumor of Android Office apps, and the latest version of the Surface tablet is quite popular. Microsoft, and in particular, Office is still going strong, but the stranglehold it had in the 90's is gone. -- Google may want businesses to pay, but going to docs.google.com and using your personal email address works just fine - much to the chagrin of IT departments everywhere.
- oblio 11y ago
  Still he has a point. Kids will toy around with Google Docs but when push comes to shove when they're hired by PWC or Deloitte, Microsoft Office is where it's at. Google Docs doesn't hold a candle against it while LibreOffice can barely sneeze in front of it.
tomjen3 11y ago
I am very far from the valley, but we have mostly phased office out in favor of google docs. It turns out that easy sharing is the killer feature and that google docs really is good enough which will obviously differ based on what you do. What non-technical users request won't matter, they will ask for whatever they are familiar with and complain if any icon is moved just slightly.

by dsg42 11y ago

fragmede 11y ago

I'm not saying this would happen tomorrow. Microsoft has enough inertia to fire all their developers and just sell the current version of Windows and Office for a long time. Hell, some 30% of computer users in China still use Windows XP. After a few generations raised on smartphones and tablets without any Microsoft apps, Microsoft Office would just be a curiosity their parents used, like Corel Draw or dBase. Fortunately Microsoft has taken note; there's rumor of Android Office apps, and the latest version of the Surface tablet is quite popular. Microsoft, and in particular, Office is still going strong, but the stranglehold it had in the 90's is gone. -- Google may want businesses to pay, but going to docs.google.com and using your personal email address works just fine - much to the chagrin of IT departments everywhere.

oblio 11y ago
Still he has a point. Kids will toy around with Google Docs but when push comes to shove when they're hired by PWC or Deloitte, Microsoft Office is where it's at. Google Docs doesn't hold a candle against it while LibreOffice can barely sneeze in front of it.

tomjen3 11y ago

I am very far from the valley, but we have mostly phased office out in favor of google docs. It turns out that easy sharing is the killer feature and that google docs really is good enough which will obviously differ based on what you do. What non-technical users request won't matter, they will ask for whatever they are familiar with and complain if any icon is moved just slightly.